Anything but Tea
by wordslinger
Summary: Part of him wanted to burn the entire shop right down to the ground. A much younger version of himself might've done exactly that without a second thought. Now he thought maybe – just maybe – there might be a better way for him to channel his anger. Kacchako. Complete.


_**Note: This piece was written for tumblr user gay-spaceprinc-e as a part of the Kacchako Secret Valentine exchange!**_

* * *

"And the water was so hot I nearly burned my lip!" the woman hissed. Even from the other side of the patio he could see her rage was fabricated. Katsuki Bakugou was an _expert_ on the subject of rage. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared. _"Well?"_ she demanded.

"Uh –" Ochako bit her lip and twisted her fingers. Watching her flounder made him want to set things on fire. "I'm sorry? The water comes from an electric kettle and no one else complained so I thought –"

The woman leaned forward to fix Ochako with her narrowed eyes. "If you can't even admit to making a mistake I don't know that you should have a service job." She straightened haughtily and puffed a breath that dissipated quickly in the cold air. "I would like to speak with your manager."

"I'm so sorry," Ochako offered softly. "I'll be happy to get you a second pot of tea."

"Another pot made by _you?_ I don't think so."

"Right. Of course. I'll fetch the manager for you." Ochako turned to seek out her manager inside. Katsuki's blood boiled. He wanted to throttle the woman who might very well cost Ochako her job. They weren't close at all, he wasn't even sure if she'd consider him a friend, but he was _furious_ on her behalf.

Katsuki watched Ochako return with her manager who profusely apologized to the woman for her overheated pot of tea – despite two other customers who'd had water from the same kettle one after another and had no complaints. He bowed deeply to her and offered her not only a refund, but also a free pot of tea in the future. The woman, coupon and cash in hand, spun on her heel and left the teashop's patio with her nose in the air. As soon as she was gone Ochako followed her manager back into the teashop. Through the window Katsuki could see her fielding the small man's rebukes with more grace than he ever thought he'd have in his whole life. When he'd gone, she pursed her lips and clenched her fists into tight balls.

Despite his best efforts to brush it off, he couldn't quite shrug away his anger.

* * *

Katsuki Bakugou wasn't a person who enjoyed enigmatic situations. He didn't care for the obscure or the abstract. He liked straightforwardness. His thought process demanded things that were cut and dry. So when he saw Ochako the next day in the science lab scowling at the books in front of her, and his stomach did a weird flip floppy thing, he got mad. He didn't like it. Physical reactions he couldn't control irritated him in a way he wasn't capable of putting into words – which irritated him even more.

All through out the lab he couldn't keep his eyes from flitting to her. He glanced around the long row of lab tables and didn't think anyone noticed his distraction. Eijirou noticed, though. He had a big obnoxious grin on his face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he snapped.

Eijirou laughed and leaned over the table. "Do you have a thing for Uraraka? You've been eyeing her for the last hour."

"No."

"Sure." Eijirou's eyes fell to his books and he began to poke around the bottles of chemicals on their tray. He picked one up and shook it around a bit before attempting to remove the stopper. Katsuki snatched the bottle away from him.

"Are you trying to get us all killed?" Katsuki turned the bottle so Eijirou could see the label. "This is dilute acetic acid, dumbass. You can't add it to bleach!"

"Eh," Eijirou muttered with a shrug that made Katsuki's face twist with frustration. "Chemistry really hasn't ever been my thing."

"Just don't touch anything. This is a basic lab. I'd rather not die because you're a fucking idiot."

"So tell me about Uraraka."

Katsuki's jaw clenched almost painfully. His dentist had been telling him to stop grinding his teeth for years and he _tried_ but how could he possibly be expected to _not_ grind his teeth when he was surrounded by idiots all day long?

"What about her?" he muttered.

"I don't know. You tell me. You were watching her earlier. Why?"

Katsuki's focus zeroed in on the little white measurement lines on his row of beakers. The lab was, in fact, very basic. He could've done a lab like this in his sleep back in high school. Now? It was a waste of his time. He could fill out his results without even wasting the resources. Unfortunately due to a series of social hiccups or, as the university administration called them, _fights,_ he would need to earn his spot in the more advanced classes instead of just testing out. _Everything_ about that irritated him. His grades had been immaculate. Why should his personality matter at all?

"Her boss is an asshole," he said in a low voice.

"Her boss?" Eijirou drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "How do you know her boss is an asshole?"

"Because my mom likes tea." In a very vague sense Katsuki was aware his answers created more questions but he didn't care.

"So your mom's love of tea led you to believe Uraraka's boss is a dick?"

Katsuki bit back a sigh. "I saw the old man giving her shit last night because this bitchy customer blamed her for hot water."

"You can't brew tea without hot water," Eijirou mused. His thoughtful expression made Katsuki want to deck him. "Wait, so you were looking at her out of concern? _You?"_

"I can be concerned about things!" he snarled. "I'm not a fucking robot. I can feel shit!"

Eijirou's mouth curled into a smirk and grimace hybrid. "So you like her then?"

"I gotta be in love with her to not enjoy watching her shitheel boss rip her a new asshole?"

"I don't know, man, for anyone else I'd say no. But _you?"_

"Shut the fuck up." Katsuki shoved the worksheets across the table toward Eijirou and stuffed away his pencils. "I did all the work. You can clean up."

* * *

The courtyards were mostly empty and Katsuki wanted his mind to be the same. It wasn't. He was still angry with Ochako's boss for coming down on her because of a customer who had clearly visited the teashop with an agenda. His feet must've had their own agenda, too, because when he glanced up next, he was standing in front of the teashop. Part of him wanted to burn the entire shop right down to the ground. A much younger version of himself might've done exactly that without a second thought. Now he thought maybe – just _maybe_ – there might be a better way for him to channel his anger.

Katsuki stalked across the street and through the teashop's small patio. A box with a slit hole in the top stood on a pole near the door. Besides the box was a compartment filled with service review cards. He didn't know how often the box was checked by the teashop's manager but surely this was a more _mature_ solution than a four alarm fire.

He kicked out a chair with his foot and dug in his bag for a pen. Katsuki spent a full twenty minutes filling out at least as many service review cards all with Ochako's name on them. If one con-artist customer could get away with smudging her name, he hoped _seventeen_ glowing review cards would help prop her up a bit. Katsuki approached the box and stuffed the cards into the slit.

When he spun around and fled the patio, he saw Ochako approaching. Katsuki did his best to move past her without catching her attention but thought for sure he could feel a pair of eyes on his back until he turned the corner at the end of the block.

* * *

The stray cat's fur was ugly but Katsuki couldn't bring himself to shoo her away. He tossed bits of cat food he kept in the back of his father's store toward her and wiped his hands with a napkin before standing. When he spun around, Ochako stood at the mouth of the alley. She glanced down at the trash bags he was supposed to be tossing and then around him to the cat still crunching on her kibble.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked with a smile. He _loved_ the way her features positively brightened when she smiled. Wait… did he love it?

"Uh, no," he murmured, grabbing the sacks of rubbish and tossing them into the open bin. "I was just closing up."

"I didn't know you were a cat person," Ochako said in the same sunny tone.

"She's a stray."

"How do you know it's a girl cat?"

"I just know." Ochako grinned up at him and his face felt warm. "She doesn't have any balls."

"I thought maybe you were a little bit psychic."

Katsuki made a strange sound in the back of his throat and stuffed his hands into his pockets. When he glanced down at her again, she was still grinning. She'd made a joke and he missed it.

"No just the… I just… never mind." He tried to inch past her but Ochako's hand reached out to grab his wrist. Her mittens were soft and he wished it were warmer so… wait. Did he really wish that?

"Bakugou," she whispered. "Or Katsuki, I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For the cards. The teashop cards, I mean. My boss is happier with me now."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ochako stepped around him but didn't let go of his wrist. Her breath puffed in front of her and he wondered at the lack of chill in his bones. He should be freezing.

"Thank you. I really need that job. After last night I thought maybe I wouldn't have it anymore but things are better now."

Katsuki's head rolled back and he settled his gaze on the stars that were beginning to show. His heart was pounding, his face still felt stupidly warm, and Ochako's hand around his wrist felt like something… new. He'd been with girls before but none of them made him feel so out of control.

"Do you want to get a drink with me?" he blurted suddenly, and meeting her eyes again. Her smile widened.

"That would be nice." She released his wrist and moved out of his way so he could slip inside his dad's shop to grab his coat and keys. "Could I maybe make one request, though?"

"What's that?"

"No tea."

His laugh was an awkward but not entirely unpleasant thing. When he let his keys settle in his pocket, Ochako took his arm. She leaned against him and the top of her head came to rest just below his shoulder.

"What about coffee?"

This time Ochako laughed and _yes_ he did like this sound very much. "Coffee is perfect."


End file.
